If there’s one thing I’ve learned from scouring the archives of the Café, it’s that its members are fiercely devoted to their R/S preparation methods. A new R/S preparation product will hit the market, and somebody will post about it, and the next thing you know, there’s an onslaught of members urging everyone to try their preferred product instead.

The outcome for me is that I now have a large collection of recommended products occupying their own shelf. The shelf holds so many formulations it should have its own California Prop. 65 warning. So far, my only conclusion was that me and sprays lack a certain chemistry (see what I did there). It turns out that I’m a stick man.

Then I discovered an older topic about one R/S stick and a new topic about another. Both topics included posts about pretty much every other product except the product they were inquiring about, and neither product was been reviewed, I figured I’d try a comparative review of Mr. Zogs Sex Wax (SW) and Penguin Magic’s Grip Stick (GS).

Bear in mind that SW, despite its name, is a readily available surfers wax and not something else. You get products with these types of names when your life is surfboards and bong hits. SW, like many R/S solutions, is a repurposed product. GS is custom created for magic, and claims that “Dozens of formulas, hundreds of tricks, and thousands of units have been tested to make sure that this roughing stick performs exactly the way magicians want.”

I purchased both and tried them in connection with a routine I’ve been workshopping for a Halloween show. The routine is a similar premise to the Atomic Card, but uses the methods found in Sam Berland’s Six Card Repeat (found in the Tarbell Course Volume six and taught by Dan Harlan in Lesson 73 of his outstanding Tarbell Video Course). Unlike the Six Card premise, I use three Tarot cards where a fourth Death card repeatedly appears despite my efforts to prevent it.

Both products arrived one day apart. I tested them separately and then side by side.


The first thing I notice about GS is how clean it is to work with. It doesn’t clump or leave little balls of product when applying it. SW also goes on clean, but not quite as clean as GS.

SW tends to leave residue on your hands that gets on to the faces or backs of other cards if you’re not careful when handling them. It doesn't impact the R/S. It seems like it is an oil that comes from the block softening from my body temperature during the handling. I resolved this by using a sandwich bag to hold the SW block when treating the cards. SW comes in formulations for different ocean temperatures(Tropical, Warm, Cool, Cold). I used the Cool formula. I suspect the Tropical formula has a higher softening temperature and may be a better choice to reduce this residue.

This doesn't happen with GS. My hands were clean during the process even though I held the block firmly during application. I like the control I get from that.

GS goes on lighter than SW as well. It's slightly less noticeable on the card. I think both have a similar weight, but SW is softer and adds more of a coating to the card.

The tradeoff is that SW has a stronger grip; even stronger that GS Extra Strong which I purchased. Whether this is a plus could be debated. GS is strong enough for most all R/S needs.

Most R/S usage is done with a full deck or at least a large pack of cards. What may not be realized is that the gaffed cards are more easily hidden when they are together in a pack. The illusion is riskier if you're employing an R/S principle with just three cards as I am. Finding something that can keep the single card illusion even when showing one R/S pairing is a far greater challenge.

I needed a gaff that could achieve this and I wanted a gaff that didn't require the common preparation for Berland’s Six Card Repeat method. SW knocked it out of the park for me. It makes this much easier to setup and repeat. I only have to use it along the borders. GS was good, but it couldn’t ensure a consistent execution of single card proving methods like a toss. For me, this was worth having to learn how to work with the stick better and more cleanly.

GS however, is a great solution for prepping an entire deck, especially the types of R/S decks we most often think about. GS also comes with a training video which is helpful if you're new to R/S. There are two bonus effects that I think are pretty clever and shows how this principle in magic could be used in different ways. They make the purchase worth it.

[bold]WARNING:[/bold] If you're like me and decide to try both products, don't use the GS instructions to apply SW. Differences between the two means that using the application method taught for GS on SW will leave you with more of a mess. SW needs a more disciplined application. It isn't hard, it just needs a more thought. GS can be applied quite liberally. SW is best if you start with a minimalist approach.

This also means SW is quicker to apply. You get more coverage with less effort. It may not be bad, but if your rotator cuff isn’t in great shape, and you're prepping four different decks, you might want to call a few friends over and have an R/S party. On the other hand, it’s hard to overdo a GS application.

I like that SW is not a magic product. Its market base is much larger than magicians. This means that I have a strong assurance that this product, which has been around for 50 years, will be available five years from now. If you don't understand why this is a big deal, go to Penguin Magic and search for a product and see how many items are out of stock. I don't say this as an attack against the magic store. It's just the realities of the industry.

I struggle with learning about something that is now discontinued. Knowing it will be there the next time I need it makes me feel good about using it. I have greater assurances with GS being a Penguin product, but it's good to know there are alternatives in the larger market. This is often why we look for solutions on the shelves of Home Depot and Hobby Lobby. It’s not just the cost. In fact, I don’t think it's usually the cost. I’d happily shell out a Benjamin for Science Friction and test it if I could get it, but that doesn’t look to be happening any time soon.

SW is half the cost of GS for more product. That’s not a major decision making factor for me since both come in with a good price point. GS spices their dish with a nice video that will be helpful regardless of the solution you use. It’s more likely both products will decay before you are able to fully use them. Getting the product built for magicians while supporting the magic community makes the most sense even at a higher price point. If the difference were 50.00 vs. 100.00 this could be a thing. Between ten and twenty is less so.

In the end, you won't go wrong with either product and likely will get both because there are needs better met by each even though both will work for most needs. It's good to have options. Feel free to tell me all about your glue sticks R/S now.

Grip Stick: https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/19870

Sex Wax: https://www.sexwax.com/item/sw/wax-surfboard/